N4L announces new partnership

N4L (Network for Learning) has announced a new partnership with the New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA).

The partnership involves the two organisations working together to enable teachers to manage their moderation requirements within Pond, a digital learning hub especially designed for teachers.

The government agency responsible for qualifications in New Zealand schools and the tertiary sector, NZQA has, as part of its role, quality assuring the assessment of student work carried out in schools, to ensure greater consistency. This process is known as moderation, and up until now has only been performed manually.

In the latter part of this year, teachers will be able to use Pond to exchange assessment materials online with their colleagues as an alternative way to manage moderation. In later months, it is expected that teachers will have the option to manage all of their moderation requirements within Pond.

Both NZQA and N4L view Pond as an ideal online environment to offer digital moderation because of the growing number of teachers visiting Pond to find and share learning resources as well as connect and collaborate with their peers.

“With Pond’s rapid uptake across the country already engaging 6000 teachers and 300 organisations, it is a solid and actively used platform for educational sector agencies to deliver content and services in a digitally relevant way,” N4L Head of Dynamic Services Chris South says.

“Additionally, using Pond will help NZQA progressively introduce teachers to new online services in an environment that will be familiar to teachers.”

NZQA deputy chief executive Richard Thornton says this option is likely to be favoured by educators who are already familiar with using online resources and digital devices in their classroom.

“The aim is to reduce the amount of time and cost associated with manual assessment processes, so that educators can spend more time helping their students achieve. The partnership is also viewed as another step in the direction of NZQA digitising more of its systems and moving toward providing online digital assessments.”